In a dramatic turn of events that has sent ripples through Middle Eastern politics and international diplomatic circles, Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, has taken a significant step toward the formal annexation of the occupied West Bank. On October 21 and 22, 2025, lawmakers advanced two controversial bills—one seeking to impose Israeli sovereignty over the entire West Bank, and another focused on annexing the large settlement of Maale Adumim, just east of Jerusalem. The votes, which passed by razor-thin margins in the preliminary readings, have reignited fierce debate about the future of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the viability of a two-state solution.
The first bill, proposed by Avi Maoz of the far-right Noam Party (which sits outside the governing coalition), squeaked through with a 25-24 vote in the 120-seat Knesset. The second bill, to annex Maale Adumim—a settlement home to about 40,000 Israelis—passed with a more decisive 32-9 tally. Both bills now proceed to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee for further deliberation, but even at this early stage, the legislative moves have drawn condemnation from across the region and beyond.
The timing of the votes was particularly notable, coming as US Vice President JD Vance was visiting Israel to bolster the fragile ceasefire agreement in Gaza. The United States, under President Donald Trump, has made its opposition to annexation clear. In September 2025, Trump stated, “I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. It’s not going to happen.” This message was reinforced during a closed-door summit at the UN General Assembly in New York, where Arab and Muslim leaders pressed Washington to prioritize ending Israel’s war in Gaza and prevent further escalation in the West Bank.
Despite this clear stance from Washington, the Knesset’s actions reveal deep divisions within Israeli politics. Most members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party abstained or simply did not attend the vote, following Netanyahu’s own call to avoid supporting the bills. Nevertheless, one Likud member, Yuli Edelstein, defied party orders and cast the decisive vote in favor. In a post on social media, Edelstein declared, “At this very moment, Israeli sovereignty throughout our homeland is the order of the day.”
Support for annexation was also vocalized by far-right ministers within the government. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, from the Religious Zionism faction, posted, “The time has come to apply full sovereignty over all the territories of Judea and Samaria—the inheritance of our forefathers—and to promote peace agreements in exchange for peace with our neighbors, from a position of strength.” National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Jewish Power party also backed the move, reflecting a hardline bloc that has long advocated for the formal absorption of West Bank territory into Israel.
The Likud party, for its part, dismissed the votes as political theater. In an official statement, the party described the bills as “another provocation by the opposition aimed at damaging our relations with the United States,” adding: “True sovereignty will be achieved not through a showy law for the record, but through proper work on the ground.”
But for many, the stakes are far more serious than political maneuvering. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemned the Knesset’s actions, stating it “strongly rejects the Knesset’s attempts to annex Palestinian land.” The ministry emphasized that the West Bank, including Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip “constitute a single geographic unit over which Israel has no sovereignty.” Hamas, the de facto authority in Gaza, called the bills evidence of “the ugly face of the colonial occupation,” and insisted that “the occupation’s frantic attempts to annex West Bank lands are invalid and illegitimate.”
Regional powers swiftly echoed these condemnations. Qatar’s Foreign Affairs Ministry denounced the votes in “the strongest terms,” describing them as a “blatant violation of the historical rights of the Palestinian people and a challenge to international law.” The Saudi Foreign Ministry expressed “complete rejection of all settlement and expansionist violations carried out by the Israeli occupation authorities.” Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates also weighed in, calling the votes “a blatant violation of international law, an undermining of the two-state solution, and an infringement on the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and the establishment of their independent, sovereign state based on the June 4, 1967 borders, with occupied Jerusalem as its capital.”
International law is unambiguous on the matter. The United Nations’ principal court ruled in 2024 that Israel’s occupation and settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are illegal and should be withdrawn as soon as possible. Yet, more than 700,000 Israelis now live in settlements on Palestinian land, and Israel’s government has continued to approve major settlement projects—including one in August 2025 between Maale Adumim and Jerusalem—that the international community has warned would destroy the viability of a future Palestinian state.
Prime Minister Netanyahu, for his part, has sent mixed signals. While his government has long flirted with the idea of annexation—especially in response to Western allies recognizing a Palestinian state in September 2025—he appeared to back off after President Trump’s unequivocal objection. At a signing ceremony for the Maale Adumim project in September, Netanyahu declared, “We are going to fulfill our promise that there will be no Palestinian state, this place belongs to us.”
The demographic realities on the ground complicate matters further. The West Bank is home to around 3 million Palestinians and over 500,000 Israelis living in settlements (excluding annexed East Jerusalem). Since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023, violence has surged in the West Bank, with Palestinian residents describing escalating attacks by Israeli settlers, and some attacks on Israelis by Palestinians emerging from the territory.
Amid these tensions, some observers see the Knesset votes as a largely rhetorical gesture—a way for parliamentarians to push back against Netanyahu’s handling of the Gaza ceasefire and US pressure, rather than a genuine legislative effort with immediate consequences. Israeli political analyst Ori Goldberg described the votes as “mainly performative,” saying they reflect a “rhetorical gesture” rather than a concrete policy shift.
Still, the symbolism is powerful, and the international response has been swift and unequivocal. The United Arab Emirates, which normalized relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords, warned in September that annexation of the West Bank would cross a red line.
As the bills move to the next stage in the Knesset, the region braces for what could be a defining moment in the long and bitter dispute over the West Bank. The outcome will not only shape Israeli-Palestinian relations but could also redraw the contours of Middle Eastern diplomacy for years to come.
For now, the question of sovereignty over the West Bank remains as contentious—and unresolved—as ever, with each new vote in the Knesset serving as both a barometer of Israeli politics and a flashpoint for international concern.
